Cushion-wheel.



J. MILLAR.

UUSHION WHEEL.

APPLIOATIQN 1 11,31) MAR. s, 1911.

1,047,268, Pate nted Dec. 17,1912.

.Witwwoeo; Q Q 2 g n I crrww I the following'is'a specification.

UNITED STATES P TENT osmcn.

JOHN MILLAR, or ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO DUNCANCAMPBELL, or ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

1 CUSHION-WHEEL,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN MILLAR, a sub! Specification of land, and aresident of Arlington, in the county of Hudson-andv State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCushion-Wheels, of

1 The object of my. invention is to secure a-cushion wheel allthe'fieizibility and resilienc y of a pneumatic tired wheel without theliability of'puncture and :wear attend- .ing the use of the'ordinarypneumatically tired wheel. This object- 'I attain by locating thecushioning means within the hub of the wheel where it will be fullyprotected, instead of out on the rim of'the wheel as in the case of apneumatic tire.

Accordingly, my invention consists in the provision of a hub having anannular recess therein in which is located suitable c u sh' ioningmeans, such as a pneumatic cushion; and a series of radially disposedplungers bearir'ig upon the pneumatic cushion and which serve' t'oltransmit the road shocks 'from the tread to the cushion. Thesepluncushion and the inner ends of the plungers.

Another feature of my invention consists in entirely inclosing theplungers so as to protect them from wear and to prevent grit and foreignmatter from gaining access .to the working parts of the WheeL, This Ipreferably accomplish by causing the slid.- ing plungers to be whollyincased within the hollow spokes and the rim carried by such spokes, andin inclosing the outer ends of the plungcrs within the tread. 1

Various other objects and features of the invent-ionwill appear as thespecification proceeds.-

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred. embodimentof my invention but it will be understood that various changes andmodifications may be which.

Lett r P nt Patented Dec. 17, 1912.

a lication filed March a, 1911. Serial No. 612,129."

made" therein without departing from the splritand scope of theinvention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a broken view, partly in section,'of acushion wheel constructed in accordance with and embodying my invention.Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the, same.

Dike reference characters refer to like parts throughout the severalviews.

According to my invention the cushion-. ing means for. the wheel insteadofbeing carried by the rim, is contained within the hub of the'wheel,and for this reasonthe hub 1-, which may be of'any desired size andshape, according to the work for which the wheel is intended, isprovided with an an-' nular chamber or space 2- therein, within which islocated the cushioning means,'the saidjcushioning means preferably beingin the iorm o'f a pneumatic cushion 3. For convenience in assembling theparts, one of the walls of this inner chamber is prefer-- ably maderemovable, as by being in .the form of an annular member 4 which isslipped over the end of the hub and may be secured in place thereon byany suitable means, such as the screw ring 5. To secure a close fittingengagement between this annular member 4 and the hub, one of these partspreferably carries an annular flange 6 which fits into a rabbet orgroove 7 in the other member. And these meeting portions are preferablysecured together by suitable fastening means, such as the bolts 8. Thecushion chamber within the hub preferably tapers outwardly in shape, asshown, and the pressure is therefore borneupon the socalled apex of thepnuema'tic cushion contained therein (see particularly Fig. 2),

" A series of radially disposed plungers 9 serve as a meansof-connection to transmit the road shocks from the tread 10 oi the wheelto the cushioning means. These plungerslare slidingly guided within thehub and for this reason the wheel is preferably provided with hollowspokes 11 in which the plungers are seated. More orless yieldingcushioning members 12 may be placed' between the inner ends of theplungers and the pneumatic cushion. Thesemembers may.

be ofhard rubbers And to protect the pneujablyprovided a ring or stripof wearing material 13 which has a direct bearing upon the'cushion. Thisstrip of weari'ngmaterial may be of rubber or rubber f&bIiC-""Th8 outerends of the spokes are preferably connected by a rim 14 which gives theneces 'sary' rigidity and strength to the wheel.

The form of the tread may vary. It preferablycohsists of, and is soshown in the resent instance, as a'rubber tire 15 which has its edgessecured to the rim by suitable clamping rings 16; bolts 17 or otherfastening means being employed for securing these clamping rings inplace. This tire is preferably held in a more or less distended positionby means of suitable filling blocks 18, which may be of wood and whichhave a direct bearin upon the outer ends of the plush ers. T ese blocksserve to distribute the orce of the thrust, and the blocks haveconnection with the plimgers preferabl by means of a ball and socketjoint 19 an 20.

The meeting ends of the blocks preferably overlap or interlock in somewa as i j fneans of a mortise joint 21 as indicated in 25 Fig. 1. Fromthe foregoing it will be noted that the sliding plungers are thusinclosed for their full lengthb the hollow spokes, the rim, and the treeso that all i working parts shall be entirely protected against theentrance of grit and dirt. Also by so inclosing the plungers andworln'ng parts, the appearance of the wheel is not marred in any waysince none of the working)gnechanism is visible. ne of he importantfeatures of my invention consists in joining the ends of the spokes,together with a rigid rim so as to produce a solid unitary structureand in causing the sliding'plungers to enter the spokes throu h the mmin the manner substantially as illustrated-in the drawin In priorcushionwheel patents which I am aware of wherein sliding plun ers areused operating within hollow spo es, the

joints between the wholly unprotecte strains upon the wheel must beborneby (plungers and spokes are these slid ng joints between the plungersand the'h'o'llow spokes. This objection is wholly overcome in myinvention for, as shown-in very heavy shock the filler block will meshupon the'rim and, the shock will thenbc.

borne by-s'uch rim, i

What-is claimed, is: 1. In a cushion wheel, a hub havin an annularchamber. therein, a pneumatic c shion contained 1 within the -said"-chamber; a,

so that any lateralplungersilexcept for 1;

rigid rim, spokes connecting said hub and rim, a tire connected to therim, spacing blocks between said-rim and tire shaped to {fit the rim,plungers restingon said cushion, and ball and socket joints between theplungers and the spacing blocks.

2. A cushion wheel comprising a hub having an annular chamber therein, apneumatic cushion contained and wholly incl'osed ing from the hub, arigid rim engagedhv the outer ends of the s okes, plungers sliding'lyengaged within t e hollow spokes, resilient cushioning members slidmglyengaged in'the inner ends of the spokes between the inner ends oftheplungers and the pneumatic. cushion, bearings located within the rimfor guiding the outer portions of the sliding plu ers, and a treadcarried by the outer ends 0 the plungers. a

ing an annular chamber there1n,a pneu matic cushion contained and whollyinclosedz' within said chamber, hollow spokes radiatingfrom the hub, ar1 'd rim engaged by the .outer ends of the spo es torigi spokes to eachother, said rim having a transversely convex outer surface, plungersslidingly engaged within the hollow spokes and bearing w th their innerends upon the pneumatic cushion, bearings located within the rim forguiding the outer portions of the sliding plungers, said plungers, withthe exception of the portions projecting beyond therim, being entirelyinclosed within the hollow spokes, a tire connected with the rim,andfillin blocks flexibly en aged u on the outer on s of the plungersFor hol 1n shaped with a transversely extending curvature on their innerfaces to correspond to the outer face of the rim whereby upon a severeshock the .filling blocks will 'mesh rigid rim.

4. A cushion ing an annular chambertherem, a pneumatic cushion containedand wholly in? radiating from the hub, a rigid-rim engaged by the outerends'of the spokes, cushioning members-disposed in the inner ends of thehollow spokes, plungers slidingly engaged within the hollowspokes andbearing withtheir inner ends u on the cushioning'm'embers, awearin stripinterposed, between the pneumatic cus ion and t einnerends of; thecushioning members, bearings located within the rim for guiding-the,outer ortions of the sliding filungers', -said sli 'ng' e portionspro'ecting eyond t e rim, being wholly inclosed with- --in the hollow sokes, a tire connected with the rim, and. lling blocks for normallyholding said tire distended, said filling 1y unite the against the rimto transmit the shock-to the j v 11o wheel comprising a hub havclosedwithin said chamber, hollow spokes within said chamber, hollow spokesradiataeg 3. A cushion wheel comprising a hub havthe tire normallydistended, .the ,said b ocks I blocks being flexibly connected with theouter ends of the plungers and having inner faces shaped to correspondin the outer faces annular chamber therein; a pneumatic cushioncontained and Wholly inclosed Within the said chamber, a rigid rim,hollow spokes connecting the hub and rinyplungers slidingly guided andinclosed within the hollow spokes, said plungers resting with their in-.ner ends upon the pnuematic cushion, a

tread'shaped on its inner face to. engageand fit the rim, and ball andsocket joints 'be- -5 tween the outer ends of the plungers andthe saidtread. r

Signed at Harrison in the co'untyof Hudson and State of New Jersey thisg'l'th d ay of February A. D. 1911.

, f JOHN MILLAR. Witnesses:

' JOHN PATEBSON, J 1:, GEORGE PATERSON.

Jopiea of thin intent may be obtained for flveoe'nt: each,lay-addressing the "Commissioner of Patent,

Washington, D. 0."

